Facebook now has full-scale solar powered plane, 10 gigabit laser

Mark Zuckerberg just announced two new developments in Facebook’s Internet.org effort, namely its first full-scale aircraft dubbed the Aquila and a 10 gigabit laser.

A plane and a laser? All this is part of Facebook’s efforts to bring the Internet to the 10 per cent without access to it. The Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and yet is light and capable of staying airborne for months, thanks to not needing to refuel constantly.

As to the laser, it will be able to transmit data ten times faster than current systems with an accuracy that can connect to a point the size of a dime from a distance of over 10 miles.